Monarch Airlines Birmingham To Birmingham

[SamWBA]

I recently looked at BHX's website, and saw a Monarch Airlines flight, taking off from BHX at approx 9:30, to Birmingham, and another flight landing at BHX at approx 12:30 from Birmingham.
Did an aircraft fly about from BHX to BHX, what happened.
Thanks.
Sam.

[pwalhx]

Santa flight maybe?

[bucket_and_spade]

As has been hinted at, it'll be a one-off charter for something. No idea of the details though.

[goatface]

The Santa flights land in Finland then return, more likely to be a Northern Lights flight.

[hapzim]

Northern lights ?

[Capt Wannabe]

Aurora Borealis

:)

[davidjohnson6]

Is a 3-hour round trip from BHX long enough to see the northern lights ? (No, I'm not talking about Blackpool)

Best place to see the aurora would be somewhere near-ish the Arctic cirle. I imagine that somewhere further south like the Shetland or Faeroe Islands would have a relatively low probability of any kind of worthwhile display

NORDLYS - Northern Lights (http://www.northern-lights.no/english/what/frequency.shtml)

[Chesty Morgan]

I've seen the Northern Lights as far south as Dublin before:ok:

[Serenity]

They have done one off experience flights for school children and disabled children before.

[TartinTon]

Fear of flying flight?

[daz211]

Long ago I crewed a flight, the same as this.
It was an Airtours flight STN-STN 3hrs long, It was a Santa flight
for Kids with MS and downs, Santa landed on the roof and came out
of the forward toilet and handed out gift, ropes were passed front to back
both ABC-DEF, the kids made the A/C turn left and right and up and down.

It was so nice to see the kids faces :ok:.

[OltonPete]

I am sure the last bhx one was for the "Northern Lights" but could be wrong.

My first thought was a santa flight just like the two Jet2's at bhx this week. One from GLA and one from EDI, nice treat for poor little ones.

However my illusuions were shattered, as the story goes it was only HBOS Managers Christmas Party. It gets worse for the staff they left behind as the return trip was paid for as well! However things are tight and the hotel
nightstop was cancelled in favour of a day return so rumour has it.

As for fear of flying, bhx has had a few airlines doing them, the best in
my opinion was a certain airline 146's - thats right fear of flying, stick them in a flying "fume" chamber :\!!! Only joking.

Pete

[Guest 112233]

Germinid meteor shower visable tonight - I bet its an astro flight. shooting star special.

CAT III

[mmeteesside]

Long ago I crewed a flight, the same as this.
It was an Airtours flight STN-STN 3hrs long, It was a Santa flight
for Kids with MS and downs, Santa landed on the roof and came out
of the forward toilet and handed out gift, ropes were passed front to back
both ABC-DEF, the kids made the A/C turn left and right and up and down.

It was so nice to see the kids faces :ok:.

Bet those are the flights you love crewing! Such a great story!

[WHBM]

It was a Santa flight for Kids with MS and Downs ....... ropes were passed front to back
both ABC-DEF, the kids made the A/C turn left and right and up and down.
To whoever thought this one up ..... absolutely brilliant ! :)

[SamWBA]

Thanks, probably a northern lightts flight, for departing at approx 9:30 PM and then arriving at approx 12:30 PM, for it's probably not a fear flying flight at such a time.
Thanks.
Sam.

[Dairyground]

It could well have been a Northern Lights flight. I was on one from Liverpool to Liverpool a couple of years ago, on a Monarch 757.

If you are tempted to go on such an expedition, try to avoid the 757, or at least get a seat well forward of the wing. At the back, the wingtip lights are bright enough to prevent sufficient night vision developing, so you don't see a thing.

[oversteer]

The idea of this fascinated me so I did a bit of digging about and it appears to be a charter run by Omega Holidays ..

Reader Travel Breaks - THE TIMES (http://www.reader.travel/ReaderNew/booking1.php?eid=71&Agent=TIM)

VERY interested in going on that! :ok:

[wiggy]

I've seen and photograhed Aurora from the Flight Deck for many years and I reckon headline advertising anything as a Northern Lights Flights is a bit imaginative...even with advances in technology and improved geomagnetic forecasts the darn things are about as reliable as a banker.....

FWIW you don't need to be near the Arctic Circle ( I've seen the Aurora Borealis from South Devon and the Aurora Australis from overhead Alice Springs) ) but you improve your chances by being near the Auroral Oval, which is roughly speaking centred on Magnetic North and, hence, geographically,a fair way North at European Longitudes. It's much further South over North America. Also the Aurora is more frequent around the equinoxes - which we are not at the moment and also around the peak of the 11 year Solar cycle-which we are also not....

Best bet..if you really do want to see Aurora save your money for another 4-5 years and then take a holiday to somewhere like North Dakota in March or September....:ok: